Laura Layden | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News
Plans for a major walking and bicycling trail in Southwest Florida are one step closer to reality.
On March 10, Collier commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of finalizing the county’s purchase of about 24 acres — or about 1.5 miles of the Seminole Gulf Railway — to be included in the first phase of a new recreational trail.
Extending into Lee County, the trail, known as BERT (Bonita-Estero Rail Trail), has been years in the making.
After debate, Collier commissioners agreed to fund virtually all of the county’s land purchase with money from Conservation Collier, a voter-approved, taxpayer-funded program established in 2003 to acquire and preserve environmentally sensitive lands.